The Moon Is Blue

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The Moon Is Blue
Directed by	Otto Preminger
Written by	F. Hugh Herbert
Starring	William Holden David Niven Maggie McNamara
Music by	Herschel Burke Gilbert
Distributed by	United Artists
Release date(s)	8 July 1953
Running time	99 min.
Country	U.S.A.
Language	English
IMDb profile

The Moon Is Blue is a 1953 comedy film directed by Otto Preminger which tells the story of a young girl who meets an architect in the Empire State Building and quickly turns his life upside down. It stars William Holden, David Niven, Maggie McNamara with Dawn Addams in a supporting role and Hardy Krüger in a cameo. The movie was adapted by F. Hugh Herbert from his hit play of the same name. (The play opened on Mar 8, 1951 on Broadway and starred Barbara Bel Geddes and Barry Nelson.)

It was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Maggie McNamara), Best Film Editing and Best Music, Song (Herschel Burke Gilbert and Sylvia Fine for "The Moon Is Blue").

The film was condemned by the Catholic Legion of Decency for its plot in which a young girl makes fun of her parents' concerns for her virtue. It was the first film to use the words "virgin", "seduce" and "mistress" since the enactment of the strict Production Code in mid-1934, and as a result was at first independently released, but achieved success and was nominated for several Oscars. Preminger's refusal to back down and get the film released helped to break down the Catholic censorship that had controlled Hollywood output since 1934.

The film was filmed in an English language version and a German language version. In Die Jungfrau auf dem Dach the stars are Johanna Matz, Hardy Krüger, Johannes Heesters and Tom Tull. Krüger and Matz have brief roles in the English language version (the young German couple waiting to use the coin-operated telescope at the top of the Empire State Building near the end of the film) while Holden and McNamara play the same roles in the German version.

It was also featured in an episode of M*A*S*H, "The Moon is Not Blue." The staff of the 4077th were determined to see this notorious film, but after a raucous fight, they were profoundly disappointed at how innocous it really was to them. (Director Otto Preminger's brother Ingo had produced the theatrical version of M*A*S*H).

[edit] External link

• The Moon Is Blue at the Internet Movie Database